ReWritten exists to bring real change into the lives of young men and women facing the challenges of single-parent homes, financial hardships, and unstable social environments.

Education

Advocacy

Community

Mobilization

Our Growing IMPACT

Because of the generous support of so many our impact continues to grow. Take a look at what YOU have done!

EQUIPPED

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Young Adults for Success

INVESTED

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Dollars into Programs to Date

PROVIDED

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Days of Learning Center Access

We are RESTORING

Academic Success

Interpersonal Skills

Single-parent Homes

Underserved Communities

Our TESTIMONIALS

“I didn’t like reading chapter books when I first started coming to ReWritten because they were hard to read. Now I can read chapter books higher than my grade level.”

Jade, 9 years old

“I used to think I didn’t have a lot to offer but I’m learning that’s not true.”

Darrius, 14 years old

“I like writing stories because it helps me understand things. I learn something new every week when I write a story at the learning center.”

Suraya, 12 years old

“The way I see it, each one of us has our own destiny to fulfill and sometimes the changes we need to make to get there are right in front of us. ReWritten is helping me to see the things that are right in front of me.”

Tylin, 16 years old

“ReWritten expands our way of thinking. Through being a part of ReWritten you rewrite your future; it changed mine.”

Jason , 21 years old

“I like to learn and I’m pretty smart and at ReWritten they are helping me get smarter. I have a 96 NPR in language arts, they told me that means I’m really smart.”

Laquan, 8 years old

“Just because you made a bad decision doesn’t mean your life is over. You have your whole life ahead of you to change and when you have people like the people at ReWritten in your corner it feels easy to try again.”

Kesean, 17 years old

Our BLOG

We’re called “ReWritten,” so why are we reading? Shouldn’t we be writing all of the time instead? We read because stories matter. Great stories show us how people live, think, succeed, fail, manage life, interact, imagine, love, hate, and help. In recent years, reading great literature, and even not-so-great literature, has declined. This is the age of the quick read, the YouTube video, and the videogame. Have you noticed that in your social media feed, articles will often state how long it will take one to read them? We often don’t sit down, go deep, and engage in something that cannot be knocked out in less than five minutes. At Rewritten, we see things differently. We see the value of slowing down, sitting down, and getting into a great story that won’t be finished today, tomorrow, or this week. Maybe we’ll need to work through it for a month or more to not only get through it but to absorb, engage, and apply the ideas the author means to communicate. That sounds like heady stuff for college or even postgraduate studies, doesn’t it? Could be. Could also be heady stuff for second, third, and fourth graders. Intellectual development and imagination don’t begin at adulthood–they begin at birth. Our students may or may not have systems in place to reinforce those qualities, but we do, and we’re kind of pushy about it. We push reading. We push engagement. We push imagination. We push critical thinking and wisdom. Most of all, we push our students to learn to recognize truth, beauty, and goodness in stories and in life because these are essential aspects of the character of God. Currently, we’ve got some deep thinking going on at the center amongst the 2nd-4th grade set. We’ve got big themes for young minds–classic, essential ideas. You might think we’ve lost it and are teaching them ancient Greek or high-level philosophy. Actually, we’re not opposed to going deep at any age. This semester, though, we’re going deep with Winnie the Pooh and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. You might laugh because these are obviously fun children’s stories. You’re right! We’re teaching children, and children learn from relatable stories for their ages. Have you actually read these books? There’s some deep stuff in them! How about these themes—friendship, loyalty, imagination, helping, art, courage, honesty, integrity, and hard work? Do these sound like themes that are only valuable for young children? We don’t think so either. These are themes for living a life of value. Our kids are learning about them here and now, not just at 20 or 30 or 40 or 50 or 60 or… We believe you’re never too young or too old to learn about wisdom, so that’s why we read deeply and early. We know it’s a tough world out there, and these kids experience hardship all too often, unfortunately. However, since it’s a tough life, why not be armed with the essential things one needs to fight through it, knowledge of

Some days, weeks, months, and even years, it seems like we shoulder so many burdens. Some of the weights we carry were placed upon us by others, and some of them we take on ourselves. The heaviest loads tend to be those that hurt and don’t go away easily. When those struggles occur during childhood and adolescence, they can seem to be insurmountable, permanent, invisible, and even normal. Sometimes, they’re in the form of inability to trust and love others, caused by rejection, abandonment, and hurtful relationships. At other times, they take the form of expectations or attitudes from others and from ourselves, both reasonable and unreasonable. The worst may be caused by trauma—those are the burdens that can become the hardest to put down, or even to recognize. The truth is, we all carry things that hurt, but for those with few resources, the hurt can overwhelm the days, weeks, months, and years. Still, amidst the difficulties, we also bear the weight of responsibility for living productively, for influencing and caring for others, for making a living, for achieving goals, for helping society, etc. These burdens can be difficult to carry too, but they also have the potential to bring great growth and development to our minds and hearts along with benefiting others. A parent, for example, can have great effect on the future of his or her children by bearing the responsibility of parenting well. That same parent will inevitably grow as a person by way of giving that time and love to the children. It’s a win-win situation. Also, by taking the time to develop oneself in body, mind, heart, and soul, one will certainly affect both self and others positively. Working at a job or career may seem like a bother at times, but if pursued well, it can benefit the organization, colleagues, society, and self. Again, win-win. For our participants, there are so many seen and unseen burdens. We sometimes need to help them to identify them, and sometimes we need to teach them to know what to carry and what to unload. Sometimes we just need to pick up some of the load ourselves to lend support. The participant who catches on to the idea that he or she can, in fact, change his or her situation for the better by laying down or taking up a particular responsibility can make tremendous progress in life. That’s what we’re here for—to help identify the choices and assist in pursuing the positive ones. That often looks like responsibility. The famous quote by Thomas Edison seems to fit all of us at times: “Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” Responsibility is work, but it’s also opportunity. We hope to send this message to all our kids, that doing the hard work is hard, but it matters, it helps, and it transforms. At ReWritten, we’re able to support our participants because of the generous support of our sponsors.

No school, swimming, s’mores and staying up late, summer was in full swing for most in mid-June when five of our participants took a trip to visit Washington D.C. and New York City. It was an educational trip that was sure to challenge these five young people and, hopefully, change the way they see themselves and how they serve the people within their circle of influence and communities. It was a goal in 2017 for Rewritten to take a trip to Washington D.C. We didn’t accomplish our goal, but with a determined spirit, patience and perseverance, what was once a wish list item, became a reality for five of our young people this year; R.J., Darrius, Hunniee, Jason and Desanthony had the privilege of traveling to the east coast. For some, it was the first time out of state; for most, it was the first time on an airplane; for all, it was their first opportunity to see, feel and touch what they’ve read about in textbooks and seen on television. From tours through a portion of the White House and the Capitol Building, the first couple days set expectations for the trip high. Those days and every day thereafter were packed with museums, International Spy Museum, Holocaust Museum, Air and Space Museum and National Museum of African American History and Culture to name a few, memorials, such as, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Arlington National Cemetery. These sites and so many others had much in common. Grand, yes. Beautiful, no, more like stunning. Striking, in more ways than could be expressed. The vastness of every building and what is kept inside seemed to transcend the immediate and radiate courage, hope and perseverance. This, our participants can relate to more and more often because of the support system that surrounds them at Rewritten. It is having the courage to dream and hope for a different future that fuels their perseverance to toil and march into the unknown. Mixed into the learning and education of it all, the group took a one-day trip to New York City to soak in city life and the hustle of a big city. Times Square gave some ground perspective while the Empire State Building offered a view overlooking Central Park, The Brooklyn Bridge and Times Square, from a much higher vantage point. All of this had participants quickly becoming partial to the energy and excitement of The Big Apple. This trip wasn’t short of its own time of reflecting on some more recent history and considering the weight of a hole in the hearts of many, though. The event of 9/11 is so clearly recounted by many: what you were doing, where you were going, who you were with or weren’t and, possibly, concerned about. These people were fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, and other family members and friends, set out on a day like any other, but not to return. This too, participants can relate to; a hole pierced by the departure of a loved

Why bikes? Because a whole new way to experience the streets and the world begins on a bike! This is what our participants are all about at ReWritten: discovering new ways to engage and conquer their world. The new mental skills attained by riding a bike are necessary for our participants’ development and preparation for life. To engage the world from the seat of a bike means new mental challenges must be immediately overcome. These challenges include keeping the bike upright when instability hits, steering away from obstacles, and slowing down when picking up too much speed. The mental skills acquired in these initial moments foreshadow the mental skills required to overcome life’s instabilities, obstacles, and slowing down when things seem out of control. Awkward beginnings will give rise to developed skill and, eventually, many, many successes. If there is no street they can’t conquer, there will be no mountain they can’t conquer. New bike riding skills bring new perspectives on the same well-worn streets. What once was perceived as a boring sidewalk or parking lot to traverse to get home, is now an adventure waiting to be had. Even the most deteriorating streets represent the necessary obstacles to steer away from that every good adventure story demands. Yes, there will be the new explorations on paths never before taken. But, more importantly, the new perspectives about the same street problems and the new mental skills to figure them out, strengthen our participant’s abilities to conquer everything. This is the conquering of their “streets”. If there is no street they can’t conquer, there will be no mountain they can’t conquer. For many of our kids, bikes are a luxury not able to be provided by birth parent or guardian. So, many of our participants in these situations would have never learned to ride a bike – which could potentially be a source of embarrassment or feelings of deficiency (like not knowing how to swim). But, it doesn’t have to be this way. Now, bikes abound at ReWritten thanks to Deanna and many others at Cummins; 25 bikes were awarded to ReWritten participants. Thank you Cummins for your generous gift to our organization and the young people we serve!